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THE 22 STORIES
Below are my summaries of
the 22 stories. Since I wrote a couple, I can't really review them, but
I'll tell you what they're about.
"OPAL HEART"
by Frances Pauli
(undead)
An undead woman hopes to be chosen by the Zombie King...
I said in the beginning that I doubted anyone could offer an undead story
that could possibly be erotic, but Pauli proved me wrong. Beautiful,
romantic, sexy, and strong.
"LOVE THY NEIGHBOR"
by Janix Jenn
(science fiction)
The Church exiles deviants off-planet...
Lesbians exiled from Earth for their "sinful natures" meet and show a
religious, long-tongued alien just how sex is done in Jenn's story. Her
protagonist is writing a guilty letter to her departed lover, admitting to
the one time she cheated on her. Amusing and exciting all-girl action.
"DINNER AND A PEEPSHOW"
by Robert Palmer
(horror/vampire)
A voyeur sees more than he expects...
Palmer takes us into his protagonist's lonely, desperate world, and into
the excitement he gets at the bloodthirsty woman in the apartment across
the way. Moody, deep, and edgy.
"ARGOSY"
by Aleksandar Žiljak
(science fiction)
Humans sail the seas in living ships...
A crew aboard a living ship succumb to lust thanks to an empathic
connection with the ship. This is one of Ziljak's two stories in ST.
Sensual group sex. Ziljak also did the stunning cover art and the 23
interior black and white illustrations that will knock your socks off.
"THE SEA BRIDE"
by Milena Benini
(fantasy/folklore/mermaid)
A man weds a mermaid in a doomed union...
Fantasy and folklore combine in Benini's first story in ST, in which a
human boy in love with a mermaid stirs up trouble while trying to keep the
love--and lust--of his life around forever. Elegant and exciting.
"PRIMAL URGE"
by Holly Knight
(fantasy)
A frustrated woman finds a paranormal cure for her woes...
A woman desperate for satisfying physical intimacy isn't getting it from
her husband, so she has to try something else in Knight's story. That
leads her into another world--or perhaps leads another world to her. A
raw, primal look at a woman who just needs sexual satisfaction.
"DESPERATE MEASURES"
by Julie Dixon
(science fiction/alien world)
A woman willingly becomes victim to tribal aliens...
Dixon's heroine has a problem, one she's tried to solve her whole life.
She believes her only hope is the planet Traventicus, and the rowdy,
rutting male humanoids there. An exciting gang-bang story with more
important overtones about finding one's satisfaction.
"VIRGIN'S SACRIFICE"
by Jane Gallagher
(fantasy/otherworld)
A girl sworn to celibacy is deadly to disbelieving suitors...
The first of Gallagher's two stories takes us to a fantasy world of
humanoids something like us, and with cultural taboos and beliefs we might
find familiar. The protagonist must remain a virgin for the sake of the
clan, and those who try to defile her will end up dead... or will they? A
story of a young girl coming into womanhood and realizing her life and
body aren't hers to control. Beautiful and enthralling.
"HI-TECH SEX LIB"
by Dalibor Perkovic
(science fiction/time travel)
A time machine changes a couple's marriage...
What happens when a young couple with an average sex life buys an in-home
time machine? Perkovic gives us an idea of what might happen, along with
his own take on the famous "time travel paradox." Imagine threesomes,
foursomes, and moresomes with just the two of you... and eventually just a
twosome with one of you. Deep and thought-provoking.
"BLOOD OF BACCHUS"
by William Markly O'Neal
(fantasy/deity)
Four women offer godhood to a wino...
O'Neal's first story in ST details the annual return of Bacchus to the
Earth, and the wild orgy it entails--and the stunning night a street wino
has when he discovers he has been chosen to be the instrument for Bacchus'
return. Amusing and entertaining with a one-man/many-women orgy, the story
has a dark-fantasy turn just waiting in the wings.
"CALL OF CUNTHULHU"
by Corwin Merrill
(horror/Cthulhu)
An Ancient Demigod demands human sacrifices from a sadistic minion...
Corwin Merrill's first ST story features a detestable protagonist
interested only in one thing: using women like slabs of meat. But there's
also this Ancient Demigod who has appeared to him in visions, and he owes
her a sacrifice. Why not have some fun with a young lady and then offer
her up? Sounds like a good plan... at first. Hard and edgy story of a
reprehensible man who seems nearly as monstrous to the women he uses as
the Ancient Demigod he's eager to serve.
"TOMMY'S ADVENTURES IN GLORYLAND"
by E.W. Lee
(science fiction/dystopian alternate reality)
Humorous insanity in a religious dystopia...
Lee has a knack for absurdity and silliness, as well as poking fun as the
absurdity and silliness of religion. In this story, Tommy sets out to
serve his god--along with plenty of sex. Very funny--it makes me laugh
every time I read it. Not for the easily offended religious folks.
"THE PERFECT WOMAN"
by Amy Judkins
(science fiction/android)
A man discovers the perfect woman...
Judkins' protagonist is a man who lost his lover due to his infidelity. He
never stopped loving her, and she stilll has feelings for him. Now, she's
called him halfway across the galaxy to make him a hefty financial
offer--and one he can't refuse when he learns of the incredible fringe
benefit... not to mention the promise of what awaits him at the conclusion
of the project. That incredible fringe benefit brings "objectification of
the female body" to a whole new level. Very sexy and bizarre.
"SUCCORS FOR INCUBATION"
by David M. Fitzpatrick
(dark fantasy)
A couple receives unwelcome nightly visits from demons...
One of my two offerings in the anthology. A young celibate couple, saving
themselves until marriage, manage to sleep together and withstand their
temptations. Then the demons begin visiting them...
"I'M RUNNING"
by John Grant
(contemporary dark fantasy)
A man flees a creature not quite his wife...
A masterful tale by master storyteller John Grant (two-time Hugo Award
winner and winner of both the Locus and World Fantasy Awards). He's
running, and he tells the tale to the man who gives him a lift--of how he
met his wife in a hotel, but she wasn't his current wife, but a younger
version of his wife, but with his current wife's memories... but who was
she really? Beautiful but sad; romantic but tragic.
"FLATTERY WILL GET YOU NOWHERE"
by William Markly O'Neal
(horror)
A serial killer experiences a supernatural threat...
O'Neal's second story in ST details a serial killer with powers of
divination who is being besieged by a dog who seems to know where he's
buried the bodies. The killer needs to pick up an innocent young couple
for a blood sacrifice... but why not get his rocks off first? Tense and
creepy, with sex scenes that will grab the voyeur in all of us, while
making us feel guilty as we suspect the coming fates of the performers.
"OBSIDIAN PHAGE"
by J.T. Beckett
(contemporary dark fantasy)
A bizarre plague blackens the glass in a man's house...
Beckett's tale of a frustrated man whose wife has become distant and
non-sexual parallels something weird happening to the windows in his
house. The two challenges seem unrelated at first, but there's a lot more
going on here. A story about frustration, desperation, a dying
relationship, and the need for sexual vengeance.
"JUST A TOY"
by Jane Gallagher
(science fiction)
A woman needs a high-tech solution to her marital problems...
Gallagher's second story in ST shows us a frustrated housewife whose
husband spends most of his time working on Venus, and no time being
intimate with her--or satisying her when they are intimate. Her only
companion is the house computer, which shows her porn films as she needs
them. But after she adds an appliance to the house that enables creating
solid holograms, she has a man who can please her, without really cheating
on her husband, because the projection is nothing more than a really good
sex toy. Fun and sexy, with a beautiful romance.
"STRANGLEHOLD"
by Corwin Merrill
(horror)
Strange auras tell a man to strangle a woman he's never met...
Merrill's second ST story is about a man who has dream visions of a woman
he's never met, where a glowing aura commands him to strangle her. Then he
meets her in real life... and the glow is there. Harsh and vicious as we
follow a man who would never hurt anyone, not even his horrible ex-wife,
but who can't find the overpowering desire to kill.
"DAYS OF ORGONE"
by Aleksandar Ziljak
(science fiction/alternate history)
The Soviets race to beat the Americans to the moon and beyond...
Ziljak's second ST story is a foray into an alternate history in which the
Soviet Union is racing to beat the Americans to the moon--using sexual
energy. A political and social sci-fi tale that takes us into realms of
sex once theorized, and now put to use here.
"NIGHT IN BERLIN"
by Milena Benini
(fantasy/werewolf)
A captured werewolf faces a bizarre deal...
Benini's second ST story deals with two characters in Nazi Germany: A
werewolf and the huntress tasked with bringing him in. Only she has an
ulterior motive beyond simply earning the bounty. Overwhelming in its
despair, and notable for its fascinating parallel with real history--here,
the were-creatures are being watched and rounded up, and they're smuggling
young out of Germany.
"ALWAYS A PRINCE, NEVER A PRINCESS"
by David M. Fitzpatrick
(sword & sorcery)
A princess kidnapped by a dragon is desperate for rescue by her one
true love...
My second story in ST is a sword & sorcery tale, written because I'd
received very few S&S submissions and none accepted. Here, a taefling
princess is captured by a dragon, and she longs for the human female who
was her lover. Her father barred her from that "immoral" relationship, but
a girl can dream...
That's 22 stories. I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you enjoy
Aleksandar's amazing illustrations within. As I say on the back cover,
there's something for everyone--science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural
horror, and in various subgenres. But there might be more for you than you
might think. If you're a sci-fi lover who doesn't do fantasy and horror,
read them anyway. You might be surprised.
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